For The Love Of A Brother
by AquaticMoose
Summary: This is going to be deleted on this account, but reuploaded and continued on my new account! (It doesn't end at the 4th chapter either.) /u/4433420/Remmeku Once I write the 5th chapter I'll upload the rest with it
1. Chapter 1

_Hey look! I actually put up something xD_

_Well! *claps hands* I've been backed up with MMD, summer reading, and various other things so I haven't been able to put this up! (Almost an entire month...)_

_Headcanon in here! In my mind, the little Germans didn't know English until they got a little bit older :3_

_Onward to the story my children~_

_Edit: Apparently the German in this was terrible, so a nice person on dA (Riceball-Of-Doom) and here of (Cpt. Sitax) corrected me :D_

_I always forget to put this, but I don't own Hetalia or the characters in Hetalia_

* * *

**Chapter I**

"B...Bruder?" A younger, sickly Gilbert asked as he slowly lied down onto their bed. "Gute Nacht..." He angled his face away to cough hoarsely a few times before facing him again.

Ludwig, also a child, turned over toward him underneath the same covers, "Gute Nacht." Their emerald sleeves gathered around their wrists and their hands intertwined as they both drifted into a deep slumber, leaving both of them to their own separate dreams.

Gilbert opened his eyes expecting the sizzles and aromas of bacon and eggs to be practically smothering the house like most Saturdays mornings, but it wasn't. In fact there wasn't any food cooking on the stove at all. Gilbert tugged on Ludwig's hand to wake him up, he was still loosely holding onto it from last night, yet he still didn't. He pushed himself up to keep balanced and kneeled on the bed.

A subtly sicklier sound came from his throat, causing him to wipe off his mouth with his sleeve. He shook Ludwig's shoulder gently, "Bruder, geht es dir gut?" Instead of his usual "early bird gets the worm" philosophy, he rolled over, pulled the covers over his head and muttered something most people would hear. Gilbert stared at him for a minute before coming to a decision. He could make them both breakfast for once!

Hurriedly, he snuck down the stairs to the kitchen and grabbed the necessities for cereal: bowls, spoons, milk, and of course the stereotypical cereal box with a fictitious character printed on it, from the drawers he could reach. He laid everything across the floor; he was smaller than most kids his age after all, and sat with his legs crossed in front of his spread of breakfast essentials. He leaned forward, poured the cereal, folded the top of the cardboard back up, and opened the small quarter gallon of milk to pour. "Bruder tatsächlich bekommt etwas von mir für einmal!" He whispered to himself happily, starting to pour the milk. As each drop absorbed itself into the sugary food, his energy and stamina seemed to be taken as well. Soon enough when he placed the milk down next to him, he fell down on his back, hearing a pop before knocking the wind out of his fragile body. He held his screams back in his chest so he wouldn't wake up his "brüderlein" from his peaceful sleep; it was only a usual shortness of breath after all, that was the only possible reason he could feel this bad.

The terrible thing though was that it wasn't.

Gilbert learned this too late. By the time he had to scream to survive, he couldn't. Not even a simple word could be uttered out of his bluish tinted lips. His lungs felt as if they were shriveling up and tearing apart from the lack of oxygen, showing its obviousness quickly throughout his face. His back didn't even seem to hurt as much anymore compared to his inwardly crushing feeling. To make matters worse, he was wildly clawing his chest with his puny hands which ripped open his thin pajama top and broke skin fervently. There were of course ways to possibly gain other's attention, like knocking over the nearby chair or smashing one of the cups on the porcelain tiled floor, but he couldn't tell what was what out of his blurring eyes. He gave into trying an abrupt inhale for air one last time before violently twitching, leading to the inevitable stillness as milk slowly spread across the floor.

Upstairs a few hours later, Ludwig's internal alarm clock finally woke him up. Oh no, the end of his brother's nine years of life didn't give him a sign at all like most close bonds would, but his sense of schedules sure did. "Guten morgen großer Bruder." He rubbed his eyes tiredly as he sat up and yawned, "Bruder?" He blinked his eyes a few times before he was able to keep them open. Immediately when Ludwig noticed that he wasn't beside him anymore, his mind went into a panic mode state —Gilbert never woke up before him—, but in a collected sort of way. Though he scoured the room from top to bottom, no avail came of it. Not knowing what might happen next, he grabbed his aluminum baseball bat out of the closet and slowly maneuvered down the stairs.

When Ludwig reached the last step, he jumped off, looked to each side swiftly —despite the fact that one side was just a wall—, and decided to survey the living room first in hopes that he was watching some cartoon or something. Sadly he wasn't, but afterward he went into the room next to it, the kitchen. This time he hoped Gilbert was getting breakfast, probably something simple like cereal, and chuckled on the inside at the idea of him even making that. He stood against the outside of the kitchen's half wall for a second before poking his head around the arched entrance.

The distinct clang of hollow metal against wood echoed in the silence eerily, sending a chilling feeling along with it. Ludwig fell to his knees as if there were no muscles to hold him up, and gawked at Gilbert from merely a few meters away, not believing what he was seeing.

His once milky pale skin now perfectly matched his naturally blue tinted sclera, his pajama top was practically ripped to shreds, the cross-hatched scratchings on his chest held coagulated blood in each and every line, and the one thing he never in a million years expected him to do was almost done; preparing food. Cereal was poured into each of the two bowls —one had milk as well— and everything else except the cup was scattered across the floor.

A feeling of depression and a strange urge to laugh overcame him gradually until he couldn't take it anymore. He crawled over to Gilbert and stared down at his glazed eyes, "Bru...brud...bruder?..." Silence. "Bruder?" More silence. "OH BRUDER?" A maniacal laugh split the quiet, "Bruder, wach auf...WACH AUF!" He grabbed onto the pieces of his pajamas top that were still intact and shook him violently, "ICH SAGTE, WACH AUF!" Realizing that he would never come back, Ludwig collapsed onto him and buried his sobs into the endless shallow cuts streaking his brother's chest. "Mein Bruder..." For a long while he stayed with the corpse, reminiscing about memory fragments he could remember of him.

* * *

_"Bruder, guck!" Gilbert beamed, practically shoving a childishly made finger painting into his brother's face. "Gefällt es dir?"_

* * *

_"Auuuuuu mein Knie!" Gilbert shrieked, rocking back and forth in the playground's gravel as he held his knee close. Ludwig rushed over to his side with a band-aid immediately —their mother made him carry them everywhere— and placed it on his wound._

_Gilbert sniffed, "Danke Bruderlein..."_

_"Gern geshehen."_

* * *

_Ludwig glanced over at Gilbert's sleeping face; it was so calm and peaceful, as if someone had painted him in a picture. It was approximately 5am, and as usual no one was up. Ludwig always had an hour to himself to do whatever he wanted, though he spent it all watching Gilbert._

_Typically the older brother would be the one watching over the younger one, but their case was completely different. Their mother wouldn't tell them why for some strange reason though._

_Glancing over at his brother's sleepy face, he pat the top of his head lightly as to not hurt him. "Ich liebe dich mein Bruder." He leaned over and pecked his forehead in a more-than-familial way._

* * *

"Bruder...ich liebe dich..." He mumbled, wiping the tears off his face.

"Ich bin zu Hause, Leute!" A light blonde woman in her early 30s walked in through the front door, wearing a navy blue suit and holding a matching briefcase.

Thinking she closed the door, she started calling for her children "Ludwig, Gilbert, wo seid ihr?" She asked concerned their wellbeing.

A soft sniff could be heard from the kitchen before Ludwig stumbled out. He stood facing his mother outside of the archway with his head hung low, crying into his bloody hands. "Bru...uder..."

Immediately, his mother dropped everything she was holding, ran over to him, and kneeled down, "Ludwig, was ist passiert?" She asked firmly. He didn't answer. _"Was. Ist. Passiert?_" She repeated in a harsher tone, now holding his shoulders.

He started trembling at the thought of his brother's body, "Br...br...bruder."

Suddenly, she knew; her mind had subconsciously connected the dots. Turning her head to the right, she saw her child. Unmoving, bloody, and blue. She clasped her mouth as tears streaked the sides of her face. "G..Gilbert?" No sound could be heard other than Ludwig's hushed sobs next to her.

Letting go of her youngest child, she wobbled over to Gilbert on her two knees and caressed his face. It felt cold to the touch and, in a sense, heavy. By now he looked absolutely dreary and gloomy, except for a faint smile on his face, making it at least seem like he had a peaceful death. She shifted her position and sat on the ground, scooping up the corpse and rocking him back and forth. After a short while, she started cooing a lullaby that she used to sing to them many times before when they were smaller, but she could only remember the last two stanzas.

"...Wollst endlich sonder Grämen,

Aus dieser Welt uns nehman

Durch einen sanften Tod;

Und wenn du uns genommen,

Lass uns in' Himmel kommen,

Du unser Herr und usder Gott.

So legt euch denn, ihr Brüder,

in Gottes Namen neider.

Kalt ist der Abendhauch,

Verschon uns, Gott, mit Strafen

Und lass uns ruhig schlafen

Und unsern kranken Nachbar auch—"

As soon as she finished the last word, she broke into a crying fit. She nuzzled Gilbert's lifeless cheeks in hopes of waking him, failing as foreseen. Laying him on her lap, she brought her hands to cover her crying face, her sunlight like hair streaming over Gilbert and sweeping across his now tear stained blood.

A scream ripped through her as she lurched her head back then abruptly changed direction to stare at Ludwig, "Was hast du deinem bruder angetan? WAS HAST DU GETAN?" Despite the fact that it was directed at her only living son, she had an evil glint in her cerulean eyes; she looked as if she was a predator ready to pounce onto its prey.

"M..mutti, ich habe nichts getan!" His face —which was just starting to dry from his incessant tears— was being covered with newly formed streaks as they flooded his cheeks, traced his chin, and dropped onto his pajama top, causing the green to turn a few shades darker.

"Lügner! Warum ist er dann tot?" She screeched. Ludwig fell back onto his rear and started wiping his bloodshot, puffy eyes with the backs of his hands. "Huh? HUH?" She lunged at him, carelessly knocking Gilbert onto the floor to roll over once before settling, and clutched his throat. "Antworte mir!" She yelled, sending droplets of saliva onto his cheeks.

"E...er war sch..schon to...t!" Ludwig spoke as fluidly as he could with his mother pinning down his arms and practically snarling in his face.

Silence passed between the two as her expression slowly softened, but only slightly; the murderous intent still lingered. "...Was?"

Just then, the police slipped in through the front door and charged into the house, bellowing questions to anyone that could've been in the area. One deputy, who seemed less experienced from the way he was assessing the situation, and one senior officer entered with their weapons drawn and pointed out in front of them. The senior instantly was infuriated at the way the mother seemed to be acting, and rushed over to pull her away as the latter snatched the boy away from his assailant. They were both pulled many meters away from each other, the boy being held and consoled by the young deputy caringly and the woman being yanked off the ground by her wrists forcefully, and, despite the fight they just had, the two called out for each other in tears.

"Ludwig!" She sobbed, tearing and outstretching her hand away from the officer's grasp. "Mutti hat dich lieb! Mutti hat dich lieb!"

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you." The elder, possibly around the same age as her, angrily told her as he snatched her hand back and placed the handcuffs on her.

"Mutti! Mutti!" He called out, fighting against the deputy's arms circling his torso fervently.

"Shh...shh..Sie wird dir nicht mehr wehtun..." He released one of his arms, held even tighter with the other one, and stroked Ludwig's blonde hair soothingly. "Alles wird gut, mein Kleiner..." Ludwig calmed for a second since his voice sounded almost like a lullaby, but then he realized his mother was just being escorted out the door. "Siehst du? Alles ist okay! Oh, nur dass su es weißt, mein Name ist Klaus!" He smiled right before he was punched in the jaw by Ludwig's small, yet tough, fist. Accidentally letting go of him, Ludwig sprinted to his mother who was already half way across the meticulously trimmed lawn. By then a crowd of curious neighbors started to gather in front of the surrounding houses' yards.

"Muttiiii!" He cried, scrambling to get in front of the two other adults before getting caught by the other man. Somehow though, he had managed to make it in time and clinged onto his mother's leg.

"Ludwig!" Tears started flowing from her eyes as soon as she laid them onto his saddened face staring up at her until he was ripped away by Klaus. The elder pushed her into the back seat and started driving off to the station, ignoring her cries to see her children and claws at the windows and doors. Soon enough, the car disappeared into the distance, leaving a bawling child, a strange policeman, a crowd of gawking people, and a slightly disheveled house behind.

As Klaus crouched down to Ludwig's height, Ludwig clasped his hands around the man's neck and sobbed quietly into his chest.

_"Ludwig..."_ Ludwig recognized the voice immediately. When he looked up, he could've sworn that he saw his brother standing in front of the crowd of people. No cuts across his chest, no bruises from being treated like a ragdoll, no trace of dying even visible. What was even stranger was the fact that the gatherers didn't even look at him; it was like they looked through him. Ludwig was about to scream out for him, but his brother anticipated that. _"Ich komme bald wieder mein Bruder..."_

"Wirklich?" Ludwig sniffled.

_"Wirkl—"_

Klaus pulled away and lightly held onto Ludwig's shoulders, "Mit wem redest du, Junge?"

Ludwig's eyes lit up as bright as the sun, "Großer Bruder!"

He, despite the child's truthfulness, didn't believe him. "Sie haben noch einen Bruder, du warst das einzige Kind im Haus."

"Nein, er ist dort drüben!" Ludwig pointed in Gilbert's direction with his eyes, "Schau! Er ist gleich dort drüben!"

Klaus let go of one of Ludwig's shoulders and glanced back, "Du bist das einzige Kind hier; du musst halluzinieren."

Ludwig's eyes flicked at Klaus for a second, "Tu ich nicht! Er ist dor—" By the time he looked back at his brother, he was gone. "Hä, er war gerade noch da..."

* * *

_[1] Bruder - Brother_

_[2] Gute Nacht - Good night_

_[3] Bruder, geht es dir gut? - Brother, are you okay?_

_[4] Bruder tatsächlich bekommt etwas von mir für einmal! - Brother actually gets something by me for once!_

_[5] Guten morgen großer Bruder - Good morning big brother_

_[6] Bruder wach auf! - Brother wake up!_

_[7] Ich sagte, wach auf! - I said, wake up!_

_[8] Mein Bruder... - My brother..._

_[9] Bruder, guck! - Brother, look!_

_[10] Gefällt es dir? - Do you like it?_

_[11] Auuuuuu mein Knie! - Owwwwww my knee!_

_[12] Danke Bruderlein - Thank you little brother_

_[13] Gern geshehen- You're welcome_

_[14] Ich liebe dich mein Bruder - I love you my brother_

_[15] Ich bin zu Hause, Leute! - I'm home you guys!_

_[16] Ludwig, Gilbert, wo seid ihr? - Ludwig, Gilbert, where are you?_

_[17] Was ist passiert? - What happened?_

_[18] ...Wollst endlich sonder Grämen,_

_Aus dieser Welt uns nehman_

_Durch einen sanften Tod;_

_Und wenn du uns genommen,_

_Lass uns in' Himmel kommen,_

_Du unser Herr und usder Gott._

_So legt euch, ihr Brüder,_

_in Gottes Namen neider._

_Kalt ist der Abendhauch,_

_Verschon uns, Gott, mit Strafen_

_Und lass uns ruhig schlafen_

_Und unsern kranken Nachbar auch—_

_- Without grief, will you finally please_

_take us out of this world_

_by a gently death;_

_and when you will have taken us,_

_let us get to Heaven,_

_you, our Lord and God_

_So then, brothers,_

_lie down in the name of God._

_The evening breeze is cold._

_Spare us punishment, God,_

_and grant us peaceful sleep,_

_and also to our sick neighbor—_

_[19] Was hast du deinem bruder angetan? - What did you do to your brother?_

_[20] Was hast du getan? - What did you do?_

_[21] M..mutti, ich habe nichts getan! - M..mommy, I didn't do anything!_

_[22] Lügner! Warum ist er dann tot? - Liar! Then why is he dead?_

_[23] Antworte mir! - Answer me!_

_[24] E...er war sch...schon to...t! - He was already dead!_

_[25] ...Was? - ...What?_

_[26] Mutti liebt dich! - Mommy loves you!_

_[27] Mutti! - Mommy!_

_[28] Sie wird dir nicht mehr wehtun... - She won't hurt you anymore..._

_[29] Alles wird gut, mein Kleiner - You'll be okay little boy_

_[30] Siehst du? Alles ist okay! Oh, nur dass su es weißt, mein Name ist Klaus! - See. You're okay! Oh, just so you know, my name is Klaus!_

_[31] Ich komme bald wieder mein Bruder... - I'll come back soon my brother..._

_[32] Wirklich? - Really?_

_[33] Mit wem redest du Junge? - Who are you talking to boy?_

_[34] Großer Bruder! - Big brother!_

_[35] Du hast keinen Bruder, du warst das einzige Kind im haus - You don't have a brother, you were the only child in the house_

_[36] Nein, er ist dort drüben! - No, he's over there!_

_[37] Schau! Er ist gleich dort drüben! - See! He's right over there!_

_[38] Du bist das einzige Kind hier; du musst halluzinieren - You're the only child here; you must be hallucinating_

_[39]Tu ich nicht! Er ist dor— - I am not! He's ov—_

_[40] Hä, er war gerade noch da... - Huh, he was just over there..._

_Geez, I swear by the next chapter I'll know so much German _ (I barely had to look at Google Translate to remember half of these...)_

_Sorry if I got the German wrong! I used cruddy Google Translate..._

_Personally I think the lullaby is really sweet and soothing :) and I like the name Klaus :3 I wasn't trying to be stereotypical with it!_

_This story will ACTUALLY have a happy ending! When my friend read this she said, "This better have a happy ending Anzu." and when I told her I was actually planning to she was like "Holy crud, it's the freaking apocalypse!"_

_Hopefully you like this Germancest~_

_Hej då!_


	2. Chapter 2

_Hello there~! Well, this is the second chapter of my Germancest :3 I hope you guys are liking it so far and I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations~_

_At first I was going with a completely different plot line, but then I changed it when I got to the middle and I think it turned out pretty good ;D_

_Le amazing German translator~! DrunkPrussian, thank you for translating for me now and for later on in the story if I add anymore :3_

* * *

**Chapter II**

Ludwig sat at his desk, copying the notes from the whiteboard diligently. He may have only been eleven years old, but he worked hard in everything he did, especially school. The other students close to him stared at his notebook, eyes widened in shock at how much he had already written over their daily English lesson. For God's sake he already had a full page while the rest had half at the most! Suddenly, just as Ludwig wrote the last word in his scarcely legible handwriting, the high pitched bell screeched throughout the room, cuing the collective groan of nearly every child in said room.

The children, who were all wearing almost the same thing: untucked indigo polos and either khaki pants or skorts, gathered their things from their desks, tucking them in various backpack pockets and gathering with their friends to walk out with. Ludwig on the other hand was about to walk out of the classroom, somehow he was last —a very rare occasion—, when his teacher laid her hand on his shoulder.

"Ludwig, you don't have to work so hard. Take a break every once and a while or you'll strain yourself." She told him in her kindly, German accented voice.

"Thank you Mrs. Houk, I'll try to remember that." He replied with his ever stoic expression.

She cringed slightly at how emotionless he seemed, but nevertheless kept her smile on her face as he walked out of her room. "Goodbye Ludwig, make sure to—" She stopped her sentence, which would have told him to practice hard, for fear that he would over-work himself.

He grunted in response and kept walking. When he reached his next class, German ironically, he sat in his chair at the back corner of the room and set himself up for another learning experience. Well, more than likely he wouldn't learn anything new since he was very fluent in not only written and spoken German, but the grammar rules and such as well, but nevertheless there was the chance.

The class seemed to drone on and on, causing the occasional person to doze off out of either boredom or drowsiness, sometimes both. Ludwig eventually fell victim as well since he knew all of what was being discussed, but not to such a degree that the others did; he only began to daydream.

* * *

_"Bruder, can you hear me?" It took Ludwig a while to translate the English; he had only started learning a few months ago when he turned nine._

_"Ja, Gilbert." Ludwig answered; slightly shocked at the fact it was his brother's voice that he hadn't heard in almost a year and at being addressed in English. The first of course was more prevalent though._

_He heard a slight breeze, most likely a sigh of relief from Gilbert, before hearing his voice once more. "Good, I can only talk for a little while though..." His voice sadly faded out, "Don't work so hard, m'kay West? You're gonna pass out one of these days!"_

_Ludwig was taken aback by what he said, "I'm only doing what's necessary."_

_"You work too hard! The awesome me came to help you realize that so ya could relax a little for once!" Ludwig was even more taken aback by that, so much so that he fell off of the mahogany colored couch he was sitting on. What had happened to his meek, humble older brother? He never said anything like that, but it_ was _him..._

_"Are you okay bruder?" Ludwig asked warily._

_"Of course! I'm not sick anymore so I'm freaking perfect!"_

Freaking? What could that mean?..., _He wondered, racking his brain for any instances he might have come across that word._

_"Ah! Well I gotta go West, see y—" Then, as if it was just a radio station or a T.V. show, his voice vanished, leaving Ludwig alone in the immense living room of the place he had to call "home"_.

* * *

Ludwig had his chin perched on his palm when a strange, swift pain spread across his forehead. "What the..?" He glanced down and saw a piece of pale chalk on top of his desk rolling off the edge and onto his khakis.

"Leudbald! Pass auf!" A gruff voice bellowed from the front of the room.

"Ja Sir." Ludwig slowly blinked a few times, rubbed the dusty material from his forehead, and focused onto the chalkboard —for some reason the German department was never given as much money as the other departments, so they went without the newer version. By the time he had received that rude awakening though, it was almost 11:45pm; lunch time. Why was it that classes went so slow, then after you lose focus for a few minutes, everything suddenly goes faster?

BRIIIING

The shrill bell rung once more, causing the same process to happen once more. Except for the part with the teacher stopping Ludwig since he was actually the first to leave in that class.

As he walked to his locker, which was a hall or two over from his German class, two boys started following him; one was a Spaniard he thought was named Antonio or Anton or something like that, and the other failingly inconspicuous boy was a Frenchman named Francis. All the way through the halls they followed him for no apparent reason. Eventually when he made it to his one locker in between the rows of many other cramped, indigo lockers, the boys ducked into the nearest bathroom...which just so happened to be the girls'. Ludwig glanced at the sight he was about to behold from across the hall and inwardly chuckled, the corners of his mouth twitching upward for a split second.

"Ohohohon~ What nice legs you have mon cheri~" A voice echoed in the bathroom. From what the German could deduce, the little French pervert was looking underneath the stalls at the girls. At what though he couldn't be sure. Obviously he was pissed at that —you don't peep at _anyone_, boy or girl— and after he snatched his brown paper bag from on top of neatly stacked textbooks, he slammed the door and was about to storm into there when the two boys were literally kicked _out_ of the bathroom.

A fuming blonde was standing in the doorway, dusting of her hands as if they had dirt on them then crossing them. "Damn perverts! Stay the hell out!" A faint applause of a few of the victims could be heard from the bathroom as she spat out every word. A smaller girl, Asian from her appearance, stood behind the blonde and thanked her multiple times.

The blonde shrugged as if she was over it by then, "It's okay; I would've done that no matter what one of these days any way." Chuckling a little bit, she grabbed her messenger bag from the teal tiled wall of the bathroom and stepped on the boys' backs as she headed off for lunch, her friend struggling to catch up to her.

"Aiiii...that hurt mi amigo..." The Spaniard rubbed the back of his head as he gradually stood up.

"Oui..." The Frenchman didn't even try to stand up and just laid there with his face practically smothering the floor. "I don't wanna get up..." He mumbled.

"You brought this on yourselves." The German looked at the two with a stern expression, a purplish-black aura surrounding him.

"I didn't do anything!" The Spaniard fervently shook his head; partially to prove that he didn't, but mostly to not get scolded by the terrifying German.

"I think I did..." The face-planted boy commented, not noticing the aura and feebly raising his hand to acknowledge himself.

Ludwig sighed and pinched his nose bridge, the aura receding for the most part. "What are your names?"

The Spaniard perked up, "Antonio!"

"Francis..." The Frenchman, once again, mumbled.

Ludwig nodded at Antonio, "Pick him up, I heard one of the stalls close and those girls _will_ be mad." After giving that piece of vital information, he walked off to lunch. Or at least the fifteen minutes he had left of lunch.

"Who are those idiots?..." He muttered, sighing soon afterward. As he made his way through the halls to the cafeteria —it was actually farther away then he remembered—, he swore he heard a faint whisper of a voice...his _brother's_ voice. He disregarded the supposed answer and shook his head. "I need to stop, brother is n—" He bit his lip fiercely, trying his best to keep his tears from pouring out of his increasingly blurry eyes. "—ever coming back..." He stood there with his head hung low, his arms dangling at his sides, and blood seeping down his chin and onto the linoleum floor.

A distant voice could be heard calling him— "Ludwig! Ludwig!" —though no distinguishable characteristics could be heard.

It was as if Ludwig was in a daze; he couldn't really tell what was happening, staggered sideways over to the lockers —which in this hall were a dark green, signaling that this was a hall for the other 7th grade class—, and slid himself down until he plopped onto the flooring. His eyes glazed over as if they weren't even trying to focus on anything and stared at his lap.

"...Ludwig is that you?" The German groggily hung his head to the side facing the voice, mouthing the words he tried to say. From the other boy's expression he had been standing at the beginning of the hall all the while, but was too shocked to move an inch from where he stood.

"Nhmph.." Ludwig tried to speak, yet his efforts were in vain; he was too mentally exhausted to even try to move.

"V...ve.." The petite Italian boy, who had the same uniform as Ludwig except his polo was dark green, softly spoke, trying his best to walk forward from the spot he was frozen onto, or to be specific trembling, in moments before. His hands were clutching a small crucifix on his necklace so he could try to calm him down and gain enough strength to help the boy across the hall.

"Budea?" Ludwig forced out of his mouth, maybe not perfectly, but it was something at least.

The Italian inhaled deeply through his nose and, at the risk of his knees buckling on him, practically dragged himself over to where the German sat and kneeled down with his side leaning against the lockers for support. "A...are you ok...ay?" The poor boy was trembling in fear, not over what might happen to himself, but at what was happening to the one in front of him.

Ludwig's empty eyes gradually rose to glance at the other student, who looked somewhat familiar at the moment, then fell to gaze at the floor. "Neeeh cuuuin aac..." He muttered before his head fell onto the Italian's lap.

"V...veeeee..." The Italian whined like a scared puppy would. His shaking hand started stroking his hair comfortingly, trying to at least comfort the poor boy some.

After a seemingly strangely long while, the bell's shrill voice echoed throughout the halls. Neither of them could move of course, but luckily a teacher had walked out of their classroom at that moment before the students were allowed to. The man's room, was a few feet down from where the two were, and when he saw them his mind went into an immediate protective mode.

He rushed over to the two and squatted down, "Vargas! What happened?" The teacher demanded, his ocean like eyes staring intently into his student's closed ones.

"I...I don't know..." He replied, sniffling twice as a tear dotted Ludwig's forehead.

The man, Mr. Leudbald from what the Italian now noticed, couldn't take it when he realized he was getting nowhere. Completely ignoring the Italian boy's inquisitively alarmed cries; he snatched up Ludwig, holding him as if he were a newborn baby, sprinted down the hall, and maneuvered around the corner heading to the nurse's office.

"V..tr...?" Ludwig begged his eyes to open partially and looked up at the man's face confusedly.

Glancing down at the boy's voice he responded, "Es ist in Ordnung Ludwig. Ich werde dich dort hinbringen."

Ludwig didn't bother to reply, instead he closed his eyes and let out a minute sigh; he left into a world of fantasy as he was ushered into the room.

* * *

_"Ich kann nicht glauben dass du zurück bist!" __Ludwig beamed, tackling his brother when he walked through the door into their home_

_"Du wolltest es, nicht wahr?" Gilbert gave a sweet smile, "Und ich sagte dir ich würde wiederkommen."_

_"Du bist der beste Bruder!" Ludwig nuzzled his head into his brother's chest, "Ich hätte nicht gedacht du würdest zurückkommn!"_

_"Nun du lagst falsch!" He playfully tackled his younger brother to the ground, himself landing on his back on the ground._

_"Eek!" Ludwig let out a childish shriek and wrestled around with his brother._

_"Jungs! Hört auf damit; es ist Zeit zum Abendessen!" __Their mother scolded from the kitchen, stirring some kind of stew in a large pot._

_"Aber Muttiiiiiiiii!" Gilbert whined, flinging his schoolbag onto the ground since he hadn't had the chance before._

_"Wollt ihr wirklich den Eintopf verpassen?" __She raised her eyebrows._

_"Nein!" The two brothers replied, their eyes lighting up at the words and aromas coming from the Kitchen._

_"__You need to practice your English!__" She commented, dishing up large amounts of the dinner into two bowls for her children. "__Now come, get your food, and sit at the dinner table."_

_Gilbert, of course, went in first and grabbed his bowl with Ludwig following behind in a sort of mimic. "Danke." They told their mother from the table._

_She sighed at the realization that they disregarded her earlier comment and poured herself a bowl with the yellow ladle._

_The door opened at that moment and a man entered, kicking off his Loafers and setting the keys on the rack against the wall. __"Was gibts zum Abendessen?" He asked in a brisk, straightforward voice._

_"Wir haben Eintopf." __The mother called from the kitchen._

_"Vati!" The two boys called, ditching their food to go hug their father._

_"Ihr müsst essen gehen!" He chuckled, ruffling the two boys hair underneath his broad hand. As Ludwig tried to look up into his eyes, everything dissipated, leaving only himself in the midst of an immensely blank space._

* * *

"What happened to him?" Ludwig slowly blinked his eyes, revealing himself to be laying in a pristine room and the teacher demanding answers from the school's nurse.

"Who are you?" The nurse retorted, not allowing a possible stranger to know the situation of the boy.

"His _father._" He put a major emphasis on the last word.

"His _father_ died many years ago." The nurse stared him in the eye, indirectly demanding an answer.

_"Fine."_ He hissed, "_Step-_father." He loomed over her menacingly, glaring into her honey like eyes.

The woman blinked a few times in shock and amazement, "Well then you should've said so~!" Her mood changed in a split second from that stubbornly insolent person into an energetic personality. She grabbed Ludwig's chart from the counter and skimmed over the contents. "Well here it says that he had a sort of mental breakdown."

"Mental...breakdown?" Ludwig repeated, lifting himself up from the resting position on the bed he was in before.

His step-father and the nurse turned to him once he uttered the words of what had happened. "It's okay sweetie." The nurse glided over to where he laid and stroked his hair, "You're fine now."

"What did happen father?" He asked, brushing off the nurse and staring at Mr. Leudbald.

"I don't know Ludwig." He answered stoically.

Ludwig glanced at the nurse before glaring at what he could of her hand. "Can you stop touching me?" He asked.

Slightly taken aback, the woman nodded and replied, "Sure. Is there anything I can get you?"

"My b—" He caught himself before he could finish, "Nothing. Thank you."

She cocked her head to the side a little and scrunched her eyebrows together, but nevertheless left because of her unneeded presence.

Mr. Leudbald glanced at his son caringly before replacing that care with indifference. "What were you thinking about then?"

"...What are you talking about?" Ludwig asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"Before you had that breakdown; you were heading to my room."

Ludwig kept his cool, but on the inside he was tumultuous. What would he tell him? He couldn't tell him it was because of his brother; he would only be scolded. What could he make up as an excuse as to why he was? Nothing would work except for saying he was lost. And that probably wouldn't since he's never lost.

He had nothing he could tell him.

"U..mm...excuse me?" The Italian boy from before knocked on the door and cracked it open for a sliver of his face to be shown. "C...can I come in?" He opened his honey like eyes, which were much like the nurse's, and looked at Ludwig.

Ludwig, sensing the opportunity to escape his step-father's oncoming incessant onslaught of questions, nodded. "Ja."

The boy slid through the door and quietly closed it behind him. "The nurse told me you were here..." He glanced down at the drops of blood on his shoes, "M..my name is Feliciano...are you okay?" He innocently looked up at Ludwig with doe eyes and his ahoge curled a little more than usual.

Ludwig was utterly taken aback by what he said; he sounded _just_ like Gilbert... "...Ja. I'm fine. Thank you for asking." He looked down upon him with distantly cold eyes.

"G..good." He smiled weakly, yet somehow brightly. "You're welc—"

"Feliciano! Dammit don't run off like that!" Another Italian, looking and dressed the same but with an ahoge on his right, barged in, slamming the door behind him. "You scared me!"

Ludwig paled and stiffened at the sight of the two brothers together. He wanted to look away, but his eyes were fixated on the two.

"Do you hear me? You could've gotten yourself hurt!" The newer Italian, and seemingly the older, scolded.

"V..ve..."

Why couldn't his brother be alive?  
Why couldn't he be fighting with his brother right now?  
Why did they have to be the lucky ones?  
Why couldn't they be split apart?

_Why couldn't one of them replace his dear Bruder?_

* * *

_[1] Leudbald! Pass auf! - Leudbald! Pay attention!__  
_

_[2] Ja Sir - Yes sir  
_

_[3] Ich kann nicht glauben dass du zurück bist! - __I can't believe you're back!_

_[4] __Du wolltest es, nicht wahr? - You wanted me to, didn't you?_

_[5] __Und ich sagte dir ich würde wiederkomme - And I told you I would_

_[6] __Du bist der beste Bruder! - You're the best Bruder!_

_[7] Ich hätte nicht gedacht du würdest zurückkommn! - I didn't think you would!_

_[8] Nun du lagst falsch! - Well you were wrong!_

_[9] Jungs! Hört auf damit; es ist Zeit zum Abendessen! - Boys! __Stop that; it's time for dinner!_

_[10] Aber muttiiiiiiiii! – But mooooommmmm!_

_[11] Wollt ihr wirklich den Eintopf verpassen? - Do you really want to miss out on stew?_

_[12] Danke - You're welcome_

_[13] Was gibts zum Abendessen? - What's for dinner?_

_[13] V..tr…? – F..thr…? (Father)_

_[14] Es ist in Ordnung Ludwig. Ich werde dich dort hinbringen - It's okay Ludwig. I will get you there_

_Oh! If you were wondering, Sir Francey Pants and Tomato Boy are going to be in the story later on :)__  
__I'm guessing this doesn't make too much sense XD__  
__Well, to sum it up, Luddy had a breakdown, Feli was there to comfort him, his step-dad (Luddy's) brought him to the hospital, Feliciano was allowed to leave school early (along with his stubborn arse brother :p), and he went to check on him~__  
__This mainly only took a while to figure out the plot to use, other than that this chapter was much easier than the first to write :D_

_Hej då!_


	3. Chapter 3

_Hey there~! Well, here's the third chapter! I'm really glad you guys are reading this story, all 150+ of you :D (I checked July 31st to see how many unique viewers this got~)_

_I'm proud of this entire story so far :'D It's realllllly rare that I get an idea I 100% love to write :'3_

_Eh, I should stop the A/N here, read on my children!  
_

* * *

**Chapter III**

After what had happened, Ludwig and Feliciano actually started to become friends. Apparently, to Ludwig's shock, Feliciano actually shared a class with him —Art. That was the one class where the multiple homerooms were mixed together; black polos, for the Scandinavian students; red polos, for the Asian students; green polos, for the Italian, Spanish, and French students; and lastly the blue polos for the German, Dutch, and Hungarian students, were scattered throughout the room. None of the other homerooms were in that class though, and huge chunks were already missing from the ones that were in there. Why, he didn't know, but there were enough students in there as it was.

Feliciano tugged on his sleeve, "Ve~ Ludwig look!" He turned his easel toward Ludwig. Today had happened to be a free day, so instead of all the easels facing the center at what they were assigned to draw, they were allowed to be wherever and the students allowed to draw whatever. The two of them —mainly Ludwig— decided to in front of the windows so that the sun could give them better lighting.

"Ja? What is it?" He asked, looking over at him from his own creation.

"Look Luddy~" He repeated, his dazed expression beaming with joy and happiness.

Ludwig shifted his sight over to the painting; there was a small rabbit nibbling on a carrot. That might sound bland, but the quality was pretty impressive for his age. The animal seemed to be soft enough to pet through the canvas, and the carrot seemed as if it could be plucked right off and eaten. "Do you like it?" Feliciano asked, smiling a little brighter than before.

"...Ja..." He could barely put his feeling into words. The picture was just so...breathtaking compared to his. He had decided to try and draw an animal as well, but a dog instead. Well, that's what it was supposed to look like. According to him though, it was actually supposed to be a cat.

"Yay!" Feliciano flung his hands up, catching on the bottom of the easel and toppling it over alongside tiny glass jars full of various paint hues, a palette, and a paintbrush.

Immediately, everybody in the room swiveled around in a wave-like motion to look at them. Technically not everyone did; Antonio was distracting Lovino, and Mr. Livianus was too busy in the middle of a siesta to care.

"Veee..." Feliciano whined, nearly stepping off of the stool when Ludwig's hand collided with his chest.

"There's glass there!" Ludwig blurted out in an annoyed, angry tone, still somehow sounding worried for him.

"Ve?" Feliciano glanced down at the ground, opened his eyes, and stared at the pieces of shards confusedly. "How am I going to clean it up Luddy?" He cocked his head and looked back at the German.

Ludwig sighed, stepped off of his stool —the side without shards— and started walking over to the teacher's desk —which faced his spot— in the corner. "Ich werde aufräumen Feliciano..." By then the other students had given up interest in the entire situation and had gone back to their own works.

"Eh...?" Feliciano's eyebrows knit together as he put his finger to his bottom lip, "What does that mean?"

Ludwig mentally facepalmed at the fact that he himself didn't know what language he had just spoken in, and answered him while walking away. "I'll clean it up Feliciano."

"R..really? Grazie Luddy, grazie!" His face lit up to how it was before the accident as he sat on the stool waiting for Ludwig to pick up everything.

By then he had gotten to the teacher's desk, and ended up slamming his fist on the table. "Mr. Livianus, may I go get some paper towels from the bathroom?" Ludwig asked calmly.

"N..nyeh?!" Mr. Livianus jolted at the abrupt awakening, only to end up childishly pouting at the child before him. "What is it Ludwig?" He asked, yawning and stretching.

"May I go get some paper towels from the bathroom?" He repeated in a more monotonous tone.

"M'kay~" Mr. Livianus answered, clasping his hands high above his head.

Nodding, Ludwig left the room. As he closed the door though, he heard the other, more irritable Italian fuming.

"FELICIANO!"

_Click_. The door closed; Ludwig started heading down the hallway to the left, planning how he was going to clean up the mess. The bathroom was fairly close to the Art room, only about a minute's walk away at a slow pace, but that still gave him enough time to think of each thing he'd need to do.

When he reached it, no one else was there, leaving a strange, peacefully ominous feel inside. Ludwig shivered slightly, and proceeded to grabbing the loose paper towel from the dispenser. As he cranked the lever on the side to get more though, he heard someone come in and, because he saw no relevance, ignored them.

Or at least until that someone set their hand on his shoulder.

"Ludwig..." The voice called.

Ludwig instinctively whipped around at the sound, "Was z—?!"

An older boy with chestnut hair and a cowlick stepped back effortlessly, asking him a question in a barely interested sort of way. "Are you okay?"

_Oh, it was only Roderich...,_ "What do you want brother?" Ludwig asked flatly.

"My my, that isn't very nice." Roderich pouted, sticking his head up a degree or two. "You looked as if you were spacing out, so I was wondering why. Never mind now though." He sighed, slightly pinching his nose bridge before walking over to the urinal.

_Gott I hate him...,_ Ludwig inwardly snarled. "Fine. Goodbye." He responded, leaving the bathroom agitatedly.

Despite the fact he left alone, he felt something following him...something strange. There was no other word to really explain it; it resembled what he felt earlier, but somehow different. For some reason though he couldn't put his finger on _what_ was different. Brushing it off, he went back inside the classroom to see the older Italian brother practically strangling the feebler one.

"Idioto! You always do things like this!" He screeched, causing the three remaining students who weren't staring to look over.

"I...I'm sorry Lovino..." At the sound of those words, Ludwig marched over to the brothers.

"Let go of him before you hurt him." Ludwig subtly demanded, stopping next to and gripping one of Lovino's arms.

"You boys play nice or something..." Mr. Livianus mumbled, not only overlooking what was happening, but dozing into a deep slumber as well.

"Get your hands off me Potato Bastard!" Lovino threw his arm in the air in hopes of forcing Ludwig to let go, but he instead causing the grip to tighten.

"Lovi~ Just let Feli go..." Antonio pleaded as a sweat drop traced his face and he tugged on Lovino's free sleeve.

"Hmph!" He excessively pouted, dropping Feliciano onto the ground. "He always makes a mess! He can never focus on what he's doing!" On and on he rambled, but the only one listening was Antonio. Even the rest of the room ended up bored once more from the spontaneous antics.

"Are you okay Feliciano?" Ludwig asked, kneeling down to him.

"S...si...grazie..." A slight blush crept across his face, "You helped me out again." He tilted his head upward to look at Ludwig and beamed, causing Ludwig's heart to flutter.

_Gilbert...that's something you would do...it's just like you...,_ Ludwig melancholically smiled, picking up a few of the glass shards with a paper towel with one hand, and wiping up the various paints with more in the other.

"Ve~? What's wrong Luddy?" Feliciano asked, noticing a change in his friend's normally serious attitude.

"Nothing; I'm fine." Ludwig replied quickly, so quickly that even the oblivious Italian noticed.

"Ve..." Said Italian picked his hands up; blood trickled down from his finger and dotted the cobalt colored floor.

Catching a glimpse out if the corner of his eye, Ludwig looked up from his meticulous work —he had most of the mess cleaned up, but apparently not all— and realized what had happened. Quickly, he picked up the remaining pieces, crumbled all of the towels around them, held the top so it would stay closed, and stood up. "You need to go to the nurse." Ludwig said, glaring down at the other boy with the same distant eyes as when they first officially met.

And once more, the fragile Italian boy felt intimidated and uneasy. "V..ve!" He stood up and cradled his oozing finger with a shining, crimson pellet embedded at the surface.

The German held onto his hand —of the finger that wasn't bleeding— and led him off.

The German dropped the rubbish he picked up into the trash can, then slammed his fist onto the table as he did before. "Mr. Livianus, may I bring Feliciano to the nurse?"

This time though, the teacher barely stirred —most likely getting used to the boy's voice. "Sure sure..."

As they were about to walk out the door though, he realized what Ludwig had asked. "Wait! What happened to my little Feli?!" He asked, springing from his chair and before Feliciano to examine his hand. "My poor baby!" Dramatically crying, he nuzzled the boy's cheek with his own stubbly one.

"Ve~ Lo zio si solletica." Feliciano chuckled, trying to pull his face away.

"He needs to go to the nurse." Ludwig reminded him.

Mr. Livianus then released his nephew and shooed them out the door, "Ai, you're right! Go on, go on!"

Obliging with what he said, Ludwig led Feliciano out of the room and down the hall to the right where the nurse's office was. It was much closer than the bathroom was to their class, but it was easily mistaken since there was another classroom —Asian Languages from what he could tell— across the hall from it. He knocked on the door casually, as if he didn't care much about the Italian's bleeding.

"Yes?" The nurse popped her head out, expecting a teacher at first, but then glanced down and spotted the kids. "What is it?" She blinked her eyes and knitted her eyebrows together in a concerned way.

"He's bleeding." Ludwig stoically replied.

"Well bring him in then!" She hurried the two inside, closed the door, and went into the cabinet above the counter for band-aids and triple antibiotic. "What happened?" She questioned, rummaging through a few other things.

"I—" Feliciano was about to answer for himself, when he was interrupted.

"Glass is stuck in his finger since he accidentally fell on it." Ludwig answered, staring at the back of the nurse's head all the while.

"Tsk!" She twirled around on her heel holding a few things, "You need to be more careful~" Squatting down to his level, she poked his nose. "M'kay~?"

"Si!" Feliciano giggled, causing each of them to smile.

As he seemed to calm down in her presence, the nurse plucked the tiny piece of glass with a pair of tweezers —Feliciano twitched some when she did—, wiped his finger with a disinfecting wipe, spread a small dab of the antibiotic onto the band-aid, and wrapped it around his now sterile finger. "Do you feel better now?" She tilted her head as she stared into his eyes.

"Kinda..." He answered.

The nurse pursed her lips together in thought, then kissed the band-aid. "What about now~?"

"Ve~!" He nodded his head earnestly, "Much better Ms. Väinämöinen!"

She gave him one last smile and stood up, "I'm glad. Now, both of you run along, the bell is going to ring so—"

BRIIIINNG

As if on cue, it did, signaling that children could come flooding out of their classrooms. Which they did.

By the time Ludwig and Feliciano stepped out of the nurse's office, the Asian Languages students all but ran them over. Somehow in that though, Ludwig was able to ram through them and get Feliciano and himself back to the classroom. When they entered, they noticed Mr. Livianus sleeping...still.

"Ve~ Grazie again Luddy!" Feliciano exclaimed, throwing himself onto Ludwig just as he tried to pick up his things.

"Eh?!" Ludwig stood up as straight as he could, "Okay Feliciano, you can get off now." He stuttered at the last bit; his breath hitching in his chest when he realized that.

"But I don't waannnaa!" Feliciano pouted, perching his head on Ludwig's shoulder as best he could.

_So many similarities..._, "Gilbert get off!" Ludwig commanded, prying the nuisance off so he could get his things.

"Eh? Who's Gilbert?" Feliciano asked, biting the inside of his lip lightly so that Ludwig couldn't tell.

"...No one! He's no one!" Ludwig snatched up his things and stormed out of the classroom.

"Wai— Luddy!" Feliciano called and darted after him, but when he stumbled out the door he couldn't find him; he had already disappeared.

"But Luddy...I wanted to tell you something..." Feliciano muttered to himself, clutching at his chest as he stood with his head hung low. "I really wanted to..."

* * *

He dragged himself to his locker a few halls down, yelling at himself in his mind. _Dammit dammit dammit! You just lost all chances you idiot! How could you even accidentally bring up Bruder in front of him? He'd realize he's been getting used all this time, no matter how thick-headed he is!_, Ludwig sighed as he trudged onward the last few steps. _Just calm down and act like it never happened and you'll be fine..._

"We've been waiting for a while you know!" An older girl with long platinum hair and a white bow on top, who was also leaning against the locker next to his, hissed.

"We have been..." Roderich replied, stepping out from behind her.

"Well something happened." Ludwig blew off the two as he entered his combination.

"Dad doesn't like when we're late!" The girl hissed once more.

"Natalia, I know that." Ludwig glared at her and gently closed the locker door despite his growing urge to slam it at full force.

"Then don't make us late!" She whipped around, stomping down the hall toward the glass double doors leading out to the side of the building.

"You really shouldn't take so long you know." Roderich aloofly scolded him as they were walking out. "You know my little sister doesn't like that."

Ludwig gritted his teeth together. "Yes I know. I won't do it again."

"Good!" Roderich smiled, opening the door for himself.

"Where were you?" Their father, who was already waiting out there with Natalia standing at his side, asked, tapping his watch impatiently.

"I'm sorry father; something happened." Ludwig answered instantly in a military-like way.

"Well don't let it again." He turned away from him and started walking through the grass toward the parking lot.

"I won't." Ludwig confirmed, following his father behind his step-siblings.

The four of them all climbed inside their black SUV; Roderich in the passenger seat since he was the oldest, and Natalia in the back with Ludwig.

Mr. Leudbald started the engine when he looked at all three of them individually, "Do you have your seatbelts on?"

"Yes." They all chimed in perfect sync.

"Good." He backed out of the parking spot, exited the parking lot, and turned onto the street connecting to their own. "Look, we got new neighbors today according to Mom, so be nice if you see them." He glanced at the rear-view mirror. "Got it?"

"Yes sir." They all chimed in perfect sync.

Ludwig flopped his head on top of his hand and stared out the window. Everything outside of the car seemed so happy, so carefree...

"Why can't Roderich sit back here with me instead?!" Natalia complained, "Ludwig's annoying to sit by!"

"He isn't doing anything; leave him alone." Their father said; he was typically the only one to stand up for Ludwig.

"Don't you want to sit with me Roddy~?" She cooed, trying to coax the answer she wanted out of him.

"No. Not really." He answered, pulling his backpack from between his legs onto his lap to make sure he had his flute case.

"I don't see what's so wrong about it!" She huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at everything outside of the window. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Natalia, stop it."

"Fine!" She slid her pocket knife out of her pocket, "I'll find a way to make you sooner or later brother..."

Ludwig's sighed; no one liked him here at his new home. To be exact, it actually wasn't very new to him since he had been living with them ever since his mother's court summons two years ago. When he started thinking back though, he felt that same presence again from the hall and the bathroom. _What the..? I must be imagining things..._, he presumed, shrugging off any other feeling he had after that.

Soon enough after Natalia's tantrum, they arrived at their house. It was fairly big; there were two stories with matching balconies on each side, immense rooms which included a library lined the inside, and the interior was decorated with only the most lavish of furnishings, but it was so lonely. No matter how enormous it was, or how much it was worth, it couldn't replace the true happiness he felt at his old home with his mother and brother. Nothing seemed to.

They all piled out of the car, grabbed their stuff, and headed off into the house except for Ludwig. Feeling the same ominousity as before paralyzed him in fear, but beckoned him to turn around as well. He couldn't help himself; he turned to see what waited behind him. Standing across the street in their new neighbors' driveway was a barefooted little boy about nine years with an unreasonably furry cat sitting next to him. They just stared at Ludwig and he just stared back at the duo.

They just stared and stared and stared.

* * *

_[1] __Domitius __Livianus - Grandpa Rome (I like that name for him :3)_

_[2] __Ich werde aufräumen Feliciano... - I'll clean it up Feliciano..._

_[3] Grazie - Thank you_

_[4] __Was z—?! - What __th__—?! (What the hell?!)_

_[5] Roderich Leudbald - Austria (I know the last name is different from the original -_-)_

_[6] S...si... - Y…yes…_

_[7]__Ve~ Lo zio si solletica! - Ve~ Uncle it tickles!_

_[8] Vanla Väinämöinen__ - Fem!Finland (I LOVE writing for her~! __I think we're pretty alike XD)_

_[9] Natalia Leudbald - Belarus (Yeah, I know the last name if different from the original for her too. They're supposed to be siblings, so please don't get all bleh over it please ._.)_

_[10] Alfher Leudbald - Germania (I forgot to say that in the second chapter D: Sorry!)_

_I really hope you guys like this chapter~ ! :D I stayed up until 1am to finish the main part of the editing, and BELIEVE me, there was a LOT of editing to do..._

_Oh! I already started writing the next chapter~ Typically I don't do much at first, but this time I did since an idea got stuck in my head (stayed up until 4am writing that part XDD)_

**_I really __—__I mean really really really__— __doubt you guys will guess who the little boy is :P Google will be your BTT if you want to know early though~ I have a poll up for it on my profile for you guys if you want to guess and see what other people thought though ;D_**

_One last thing, I KNOW the German and Italian are probably wrong DX I didn't want to bother my amazingful German translator since she's in France on vacation, so it and the Italian (one of my buddies who knows some Italian said it was right though :'D? ) were Google Translate'd ;w;_

_You know what...? I say 'really' way to much XD  
_

_Hej då!_


	4. Chapter 4

_I love how I always write the same amount each time XD Nearly 3,000 words each~ I feel accomplished~_

_I might not be able to update as fast (well except this time...my week of hiatus during this REALLY set me back...You guys here didn't know about it since I kinda can't inform you, but my dA watchers did) since I just started school D: Like LITERALLY just did today XD_

_I will try to write during school though in a spiral or something and transfer it (if I can actually read my handwriting...). This year, they apparently probably won't allow e-readers which I usually use to write ;w; Well...I'll figure out something! *salutes*_

_No clue if I've even said this yet, but I don't own Hetalia XD I'm terrible at remembering to say that =_="_

* * *

**Chapter IV**

"Fader Jakob, Fader Jakob,

Sover du? Sover du?

Hører du ei klokken? Hører du ei klokken?

Ding dang dong, ding dang dong." The fair-haired boy sung melodiously, hitting each note with hypnotic precision.

"Fader Jakob, Fader Jakob,

Sover du? Sover du?

Hører du ei klokken? Hører du ei klokken?

Ding dang dong, ding dang dong." He sung in the same hypnotic voice, but a pitch higher.

Once more he sung, in the same voice as the preceding times, but, like before, in a higher pitch. It was loud enough to be heard through insulated walls in fact. "Fader Jakob, Fader Jakob,

Sover du? Sover du?

Hører du ei klokken? Hører du e—"

Just then another boy, this one about five years old and a near replica of the other, came out, dragging a white, stuffed toy owl alongside him. The other boy, who was singing, seemed to not even notice, let alone care, and just kept on.

"—i klokken?

Ding dang dong, ding dang dong."

A chill crept down Ludwig's spine, daring him to run away, but he couldn't leave the entrancing voice. Partly out of the pure, elegant beauty, and partly because he was thoroughly terrified and therefore _couldn't_ move.

The littler boy with the owl stood next to his brother, glanced up at him, then mimicked each of his movements and words as if he were a ventriloquist's doll.

"Fader Jakob, Fader Jakob,

Sover du? Sover du?

Hører du ei klokken? Hører du ei klokken?

Ding dang dong, ding dang dong." The two children sang, their voices complimenting each other pleasantly. Strangely, the volume didn't change with this repetition like the previous times.

Ludwig was petrified, but Ludwig didn't want to leave the lovely sirens with their lovely siren voices. Ludwig liked the lovely siren voices. Ludwig really did.

This time though, their volume went to a near screeching level. "FADER JAKOB, FADER JAKOB,

SOVER DU? SOVER DU?

HØRER DU EI KLOKKEN? HØRER DU EI KLOKKEN?

DING DANG DO—"

An somewhat older boy, with spiky blonde hair, dull blue eyes and was presumably the eldest, dashed out of the front door —which was wide open— and over two his younger brothers. "What the hell Lukas?! Emil, you too this time? This is the second time thi—"

An ear splitting, blood-curdling scream rang from the Leudbald's home, causing everyone to silence themselves immediately. It was a girl's; it was Natalia's.

Ludwig didn't move an inch despite his step-sister's outcry though; he just kept staring at the youngest two of his new neighbors as they mouthed the song over and over and were scolded by their older brother, over and over.

"LUDWIG! GET OVER HERE. _NOW!_" His father's bellowing voice made Ludwig finally snap out of his trance-like state. He escaped from the children, threw the front door open, then broke down after slamming it shut. He barely supported himself up on his knees as he breathed heavily, like he had just run a marathon.

"LUDWIG!" His father's voice bellowed throughout the house once more, despite coming from the backyard. For some reason the three of them —his step-father and step-siblings that is— were gathered around the in-ground pool, staring at it intently.

He hustled over to the sliding glass door as best he could —leaning on furniture briefly a few times—, then forced his body to move the remaining ten or so feet to his father. "Wh...at...is it?.." He wheezed, hunched over somewhat with his hand to his chest.

None of them answered him.

"Wha..t...i—?"

"...Look..." Roderich murmured.

Complying out of borderline exhaustion, Ludwig gathered enough strength to stand close enough to how he normally would. He staggered around to Roderich's side and stared with him in disbelief.

In the pool, in their once sparkling, pristine pool, was their bloodied mother. Her lower abdomen was ripped to shreds; her entrails, or at least the ribbons of what was left of them, threatened to float away in the pool's current, mixing the water around her to a semi-transparent, cloudy red. Those once stunning violet eyes of hers were rolled to the back of her head.

Nothing else on her body was touched.

Her clothes were all there, with the exception of a red heel which had sunken to the bottom; her untangled chestnut hair was flowing with the current; her light coat of makeup wasn't smeared or faded; there were no other visible cuts or bruises on her body though. Only her abdomen. Only her lower abdomen.

The disconcerting thing though was this: it looked as if she had just died that very second. Not ten minutes ago, not thirty minutes, not an hour. _Right. That. Second. _The blood around her disputed that appearance though since it had already ceased flowing from her body.

The three who had seen the corpse first had talked to her when they first came into the house. Not even ten minutes had past. No one saw anything happen, let alone imagine something like this to happen.

_"Hello dear."_

_"...Hey."_

_"Hello mother."_

Their last words to her were pretty simple and hurried, but still caused her face to light up.

_"Hey guys! How was school?" She curiously asked._

_"I just got home mom! I need to rest!"_

_"Pretty good mother, nothing special though."_

_"Some kid broke his finger, but that was all."_

Then they turned around for only a second to drop off their things, and when they turned back to continue speaking, she disappeared. No word, no warning, no sound. She just reappeared in the pool with cross hatched markings across her lower abdomen.

_...How...how did this happen...?..._, Ludwig was in a state of utter disbelief, but racked his brain to find an answer to his own question.

Roderich couldn't hold in the disgust he felt any longer unlike the other members of his family. Collapsing down onto his hands and knees, he regurgitated his entire lunch onto the slightly disheveled grass from the inhumanity. His mother, _his _mother, had her stomach butchered, mutilated, mangled, every word that could describe it, to shreds. To him, no sensible person should've been able to even _imagine_ the sight.

"Is everything alright?!" The eldest boy dashed through the door, his siblings casually trailing after him. Each of the Leudbalds turned their heads to see the noisy newcomer, even Roderich who was fairly weak by now.

Mr. Leudbald hastily slid from where he was standing to the space in front of their neighbor, blocking both their views of the mutilation. "Leave. Go home to your parents."

"But I heard screams an—"

_"Leave, take your brothers wherever they are, and go home to your parents."_ He insisted, a harsher tone taking over. Speaking of the devil, the two suddenly arrived next to him —the younger holding his toy owl's wing as if it were a hand—, peeking around his side.

The youngest boy tugged on his "twin's" shoulder with his free hand. "Bróðir, you were right."

"I know." The middle brother kept his unfazed, apathetic gaze fixed on the pool, but then suddenly jerked his head to the right as if he saw an animal scamper by.

Ludwig overheard this —Natalia on the other hand didn't, seeing as she was now comforting her retching brother and all— and was interested, yet confused. "What do you m—?"

_"Now."_ Mr. Leudbald commanded, not allowing them to stay any longer or for Ludwig to give them a reason to.

The eldest boy gulped. "Yes sir." Grabbing one of each of his brothers' hands, he directed them out the way they had came. As they walked, he bent down to their level and whispered to them. "We need to go now."

"Why Mathie?" The youngest asked innocently, his owl dragging on the dull, wooden floor of the Leudbalds' living room.

As Mathais tried to explain, the middle brother looked back, staring into Ludwig's eyes; into his very soul. "He's still here." He commented in his dreary voice.

Ludwig's eyes opened wide, what could he mean? Who was 'he'? What was he right about? "Wai—!" He called, only to be subliminally quieted by his father's hand upon his shoulder.

"They shouldn't see this." His father shook his head gently, biting his lip to stop the budding tears from flowing out. "They need to go him to theirs."

The rest of the day, Ludwig locked himself in his room upstairs, sitting with his covers surrounding him and his back to the window at the side of his bed; he didn't want to answer to police officers' questions, or see anyone for that matter. He knew he was acting anti-social and strange compared to his usual self, but he didn't care —ever since he met those two boys he acted different. They honestly and truly creeped him out.

_"Fader Jakob, Fader Jakob,_

_Sover du? Sover du?_

_Hører du ei klokken? Hører du ei klokken?_

_Ding dang dong, ding dang dong." _Their beautiful voices still rang in his head, urging him to pull the covers around him tighter.

"Why did it look so familiar...?..." He wondered aloud, searching his brain for any times he might have seen that cross hatched pattern that was clawed into his step-mother. _...Wait...,_ He scrunched his eyes together to heighten his memory.

Soon, complete silence enveloped the room. Not even his own breathing could be heard since it had practically stopped.

...

...

...

"...The same...they're the same...I'm sure of it..." Ludwig breathed, shock and a erratic hint of happiness dabbling his voice. "They're the same..." He chuckled, "Does that mean he's coming home now? Is he?" He asked his pillows. "Do you think he is?"

"Actually I do." In the doorway was the maniacal boy from before.

Ludwig lunged off of his bed, throwing his back against the wall next to his slightly opened closet door. "What are you doing here?!" He snarled, reaching inside the closet and gripping his hidden baseball bat he had for over five years. "Get the hell out!"

The boy took a quick overlook of himself, then raised his focus back onto Ludwig. "I don't have anything so you don't have to try and hurt me."

The color drained from Ludwig's face as he slid his hand out of the closet, empty and shaking. "...How did you know that...?"

"I just know." The boy softly shut the door, glanced around the room as he strode over, and sat on the bed, kicking his covered feet back and forth. "Are you okay?" He asked, staring into Ludwig's eyes unfalteringly.

An unsettling feeling seemed to be emitting itself from the boy, filling the bedroom with the ominousity.

"Of course not! You just came out of nowhere, picked my lock, and read my mind!" Ludwig accused.

The younger boy put his finger over his mouth. "Shh, they'll hear you." He pointed down at the first floor.

"Still! How did you even get in here?!" Ludwig demanded, trying his best not to yell by instead hissing.

"Simple; I walked through the front door and up here." He looked at Ludwig with innocent, doe-like, azure eyes; eyes that seemed to have never seen anything vulgar or cruel. They contrasted his earlier actions...freakishly. They didn't even seem to belong to the same person.

"...Liar." Ludwig accused, "No one could've gotten up here that easily."

He blinked a few times. "Well I did Ludwig."

"How do you know my name too?!" Ludwig whispered.

"Your dad was screaming it earlier after all." The boy swiveled his entire body around and looked out the window, letting the evening sunlight spread across his face and bath his body.

Ludwig gritted his teeth, "Well then what's yours?"

"Lukas. Lukas Bondevik." Lukas answered, finishing off the remaining 180 degrees to face Ludwig once more.

"Well Lukas, how did you read my mind?" Ludwig asked as he stepped a foot closer to the edge of his bed.

"You were talking out loud actually."

He backed up to the spot he had stood on before taking the extra step, "I was?" Ludwig asked interestedly; he could've sworn he wasn't.

"Yes."

"Lukas! Lukas honey where are you?" A woman with the same platinum blonde hair and azure eyes as Lukas —presumably his mother as well— randomly called, scouring the streets for him.

Lukas sighed, "I have to go, but I'll tell you now:" Before Ludwig could get a word in, he continued. "Be wary of the one you love the most." He advised as he pushed himself from the bed.

"...What?"

"Do what I just said." He replied simply, walking over to and gingerly opening the door to the hallway.

"What does that mean?" Ludwig tried to pry one last answer from the child, but he had already stepped out into the hallway. Running over to the door, he flung it open and, in hopes of being able to find him, twisted his head in each direction, but he had already disappeared. Vanished completely in fact; no footsteps could even be heard. Only the policemen's shuffling and inquiries downstairs could be.

Ludwig mindlessly closed the door, leaning his head against it afterward. _The one I love the most...?,_ He pondered, _Who do I love the most?..._ Images of various people flicked through his mind: his birth mother's bleak mug shot, the one memory he had of his father before he died —a quaint memory of his smile—, his step-sister's scowling face whenever he was near Roderich, his step-brother's aloof scoldings, Feliciano's endlessly sleepy expression, and Gilbert's tender smiles. The latter two individuals eventually taking over his focus.

Feliciano's terrified, trembling figure when they first met. His smile that greeted him every day. His adorable, blushing face when he asked to be friends —Ludwig's _first_ friend. His bleeding finger when they were at the nurse's office. His confused look when he heard of Gilbert.

Gilbert's kindly smiling face when he first held Ludwig. His weak, frail body that seemed to always need supervision. His comforting demeanor whenever Ludwig had a cold or was sick in any way. The overly protective way he acted whenever Ludwig tried to make friends. His distant eyes and cold touch when he laid on the kitchen floor motionlessly.

...It had to be his brother of course; it _had_ to be!_ I've loved him ever since I can remember!,_ Ludwig blushed madly when he realized what he had just thought. _It_ is_ true though...I always have..._

As he turned around, he felt that same aura as he did multiple times earlier in that day. Pausing midway, he bit his lip lightly to prepare himself for what he might see. Then, after taking a deep breath, he whipped around and stood proudly.

Nothing was there.

"...What?" Ludwig's eyebrows crunched together and tilted upwards at the end in a mix of anger and confusion. "I know I felt it." He reassured himself, "I_ know_ I did." Shaking his head, he climbed onto his bed and stared out the window.

Most of the cops had left by now, it had been about three hours since the incident happened, but there were still a couple left to check out everything one last time. Lukas' mother seemed to be thoroughly scolding her middle son under the oak tree in their front yard. A car or two passed down the street. Nothing out of place really.

Though he still felt the presence.

_Where is it coming from?,_ Ludwig wondered as he flicked his eyes in various directions, remembering the times when he had felt it before as well. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lukas jerk his head in a completely different direction than how it was before; the same way he had by the pool. He was staring at the ground a story below Ludwig's window now.

Terrified beyond what most people are in their lifetime, Ludwig gathered up what little courage he had and peered over the window's edge.

A boy in a school uniform —roughly a year older than him, but still in Ludwig's own style of uniform— stood there. Whenever Ludwig looked down, he stared up. There were quite a few kids in their neighborhood, but Ludwig hadn't seen this one around before. Well, he actually couldn't really make out what the face looked like at all, but the general description. In a flash though, he saw a Cheshire cat like grin spread across his face and he disappeared. Vanished. Just like Lukas had.

Ludwig jerked away as soon as he saw the dreadful smile. He toppled off of his bed and onto the carpeted floor; his eyes were closed tightly shut, or at least until he heard a voice looming above him.

"Eh? You okay?"

His breath hitched in his throat, but instead of being cowardly as he typically would have, he released the fierce hold he had on his eyes. A sigh of relief passed his lips once he recognized the voice. "What Roderich?"

_Why is it that he always ends up around me at these times...?_

"Why are you on the floor?"

"I accidentally fell backward, why else?" Ludwig frankly answered, trying to hide the fact that he was actually scared.

Roderich sighed and started heading out of the room, "Well it's time for dinner. Come on."

Ludwig nodded his head once and stood up. "Fine."

"Question though," Roderich asked, stopping and twisted his torso toward his step-brother.

"What now?"

"Do you have any friends? There was some kid outside the window a short while ago asking for you."

* * *

_[1] Fader Jakob, Fader Jakob,_

_Sover du? Sover du?_

_Hører du ei klokken? Hører du ei klokken?_

_Ding dang dong, ding dang dong. -_

_Father James, Father James_

_Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?_

_Do you hear the bells? Do you hear the bells?_

_Ding, dang, dong, ding, dang, dong.  
_

_[2] Bróðir - Brother_

_If you guess WHY I put the children's song I did right, I will give you a virtual cookie :3_

_Austria be a creepy creeperkins o3o_

_Yes! The little boy was our beloved NorNor-chan~! The ONE person who guessed Iceland on was closest~_

_I really hope you enjoy this~! I LOVED writing the first part way too much...I wish I could've gone in deeper detail, but this story isn't necessarily a gory one, so I didn't ._._

_Hej då!_


	5. READ Well, if you like this that is

Okay guys, this story will be continued on my NEW account! I'll delete these chapters on this account, but I'll reupload the chapters and stuff on the new one once I write the 5th. Just a fyi for you guys :3

New Account: u/4433420/Remmeku


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